LAS CRUCES — The men and women who work at White Sands Missile Range are accustomed to taking on new challenges.

But this time, the challenges are about shrinking dollars that could potentially downsize WSMR and have a negative impact on the economies of Las Cruces, southern New Mexico and far west Texas.

Sequestration, a budget-cutting measure passed by Congress as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, will have far-reaching impacts if it goes into effect as scheduled on March 1. WSMR will likely be negatively affected to some degree. And, as one of Las Cruces' largest employers, the trickle-down effect could very well impact Las Cruces.

WSMR's daily economic impact on Las Cruces amounts to about $2.3 million. That includes salaries paid to employees who live in the city, contracts it has with city businesses, and the money it spends in Las Cruces for goods and services that aid in its operations.

WSMR officials have emphasized that, even if sequestration goes into effect March 1, it's not yet known exactly what those potential cutbacks might be. But, in a worst-case scenario, it could involve as much as 22 days annually of furloughs for WSMR employees.

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That would take a toll on the local economy, considering more than 6,000 of WSMR's 9,308 employees live in Las Cruces.

Brig. Gen. Gwen Bingham, WSMR commander, didn't mince words about how she feels about the possibility of furloughs for employees.

"I sense and understand the high level of angst that goes along with this current budget uncertainty," Bingham said. "I will continually iterate that my overarching priorities are people, matters that impact life, health, safety, and mission readiness. To that end, any furlough is considered a tool of last resort."

Bingham added it is WSMR employees who have been the backbone why it has been an important test and evaluation facility for military weapons systems.

"Without doubt, White Sands Missile Range is the national treasure that I consider us to be because of the men and women who work and live here," she said. "We must work together to preserve this capability — our warfighters depend on us!"

In attempts to mitigate the possibilities of furloughs, WSMR has already enacted a hiring freeze, and WSMR officials have begun reviewing and restructuring contracts to identify savings.

Professional development training, education, and conferences have been cut for civilian employees. WSMR has also canceled all restoration and management projects.

Mark Tubbs, director of WSMR's Information Management Division — one of its largest organizations — said while many of the 230 combined civilian, contractor and Department of Defense employees are generally concerned about what might happen, a more pragmatic approach is probably going to be best.

"We really don't know what we know," Tubbs said. "Depending on what eventually does happen, we'll deal with that accordingly.

"We've already pre-positioned ourselves as best we can to try to lessen any negative impacts that might occur.

"...We have known for quite some time the budget we're going to have is going to be leaner. We're streamlining the process to be in a better position."

Tubbs agreed with Bingham that a reduction in force at WSMR doesn't seem likely.

"I don't expect to get rid of people. We just don't expect that," he said. "White Sands is all about people. Without them, we couldn't — and wouldn't — do our work."

The sequestration won't affect military personnel, Tubbs said. They will continue to serve the U.S. and will keep getting paid for it.

Steve Ramirez can be reached at 575-541-5452. Follow him on Twitter @SteveRamirez6